Manufacture of lasts



May 15, 1928. f 1,669,500

L. E. TOPHAM,

MANUFACTURE OF LASTS Filed Feb 7 1923 s Sheets- Sheet 1 May 15. 1928.

L. E. TOPHAM MANUFACTURE OF LASTS 0rizin al {*iled Feb. '7. 1923 3Sheets-Sheet 2 b Maw Patented May 15, 1928.

warren stares PATENT OFFICE.

LAUBENZGE E. TOPHAM, OF WENHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITEDSHOE. MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATIOK OFNEW JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE. or LAs'rs.

Application filed February 7, 1923, Serial No. 617,603. Renewed October1, 1926.

T he present invention relates to the manufacture of irregular objectsin accordance with a pattern, and is illustrated in connection with, amachine for finishing the extremities of last parts.

Lasts are ordinarily turned in a copying lathe, where they are suspendedupon dogs engaging their ends. It is impossible for the cutter tooperate in the immediate vicinity of these dogs so that a stub is lefton each end of the last which is generally finished ed by hand atconsiderable expense and risk of inaccuracy. lVhile a number of machineshave been proposed for the mechanical performance of this operation,only one of them has reached the point of commercial use, and isattended with certain disadvantages, for example, that it Will not gradea series of sizes and widths from a single model, so'that there must befurnished a model for every size and width. From an economic standpoint,it is also a great disadvantage to the last maker to be obliged toinvest in a separate machine of a type radically different from those ofhis other equipment, of greater cost and intricacy of construction, andwhich will he often idle.

Further, additional difficulty is introduced in dealing with the problemof the complete finishing of the ends of separate last fore and and heelparts, the independent manufacture of which is becoming important.

In view of these conditions, it is an object of my invention to providean improved method and apparatus for the performance of turningoperations, such as end-finishing operations on last parts and the like,by the utilization of which the above-mentioned and other disadvantagesand difliculties may be avoided.

Accordingly, the invention provides a copying; lathe arranged to hold alast part with its longitudinal axis (at the end of which the stub. isformed) extending substantially perpendicularly to the work drivingspindle, and to guard the cutter when pass ing around those parts of theWork not treated in the machine.

In another aspect the invention provides a novel method of last makingcomprising automatically revolving the stub against a cutter and guidingthe work from a'model or template to regulate the depth of. cut.Preferably also, in accordance with the invention, the cutter is guardedas it passes around the Work piece except at the stub.

Considering the invention again from the machine aspect, it provides forthe organization of grading mechanismwith the Work treating apparatusesdescribed above. In the disclosed machine, the grading mechanism of thelathe performs its ordinary functions upon that part of the Work beingtreated. The feature of employing the cutter only at the stub portion ofthe last simplifies the grading problem very much, owing to the specialnature of the cuttingdone, and advantage is taken: of this to utilize ananomalous action of the Width grading mechanism to accomplish theguarding of the cutter.

Moreover, while the illustrated machine is especially designed forperforming turning operations on last. parts as distinguished fromlasts, and the objects operated upon by this machine are hereingenerally referred to for convenience as last parts, in various aspectsthe invention is not so limited.

These and other features of the invention comprising certaincombinations and arrangements of parts will be understood from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected forpurposes of' illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings inwhich,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine; h

Fig; 2 is a cross-section on the line 2- ofFig-r 1; I

' Fig. 3 is a detail of the model and Work holding fixture,

Fig. 49 is a detail illustrating the formation of the last parts.

Figs. 5'to 9 are diagrammatic details of the different cams used in themachine.

The machine shown is largely disclosed in my two prior applications Ser.No. 429,- i719; filed lDec.,10'. 1920, and Ser. No. 530,214, filed Jan.18, 1922, and reference may be made to them for description of parts notfully described herein. The main frame 10 supports three longitudinallysliding carriages 12,14, 16. The carriage 12 carries 38 arranged toreceive dog carrying fixtures the cutter 18, and is connected to the earriage 14: by a right and left screw 20 fo moving the carriagesoppositely. The carriage 16 carries the modelwheel 22, and 18 joined tothe carriage 14 by a length grading mechanism 24 which may be of anydcsired type, as, for example, the regularGilmauapparatus. i i i p Theswing frame is aheavy square shaft 26 mounted on trunnions 28, andhaving three arms 30, 32, 34. The central arm 3 carries gearing to drivea spindle 36 on'the ends of which are mounted two face plates thepresent instance arranged to cooperate 'with the joint surfaces of thelast parts of the last invented by G. P. S. Gross, disclosed and claimedin his application Ser. No. 465,951, filed May 2, 1921. It will beunderstood, of course, that the fixtures, 50, 52 will be designedin anycase to hold the particular last parts being treated, preferably bytheir joint surfaces, since these are naturally in a definite relationto the external contour of the last and generally havea plane portionwhich cooperates readily with the fixture for accurate positioning. Thefixtures shownchave a portion 54 arranged to be keyed or otherwisefirmly and definitely fastened to the faceplates, and a carrying portion56 arranged to hold the last part 58 or the model 59. The fastening ofthe last part is preferably effected y similar mechanism to that used inbondmg the last parts, and occupying the holes formed in the wooden lastparts for this bonding mechanism. This secures accuracy 0t posit on. Thecarr er portions 56. are so arranged, 111 any case, that the last parts(and model) is carried with its longitudinal axis (of the last as awhole) approximately perpendicular to ,the axis of the dogs and faceplates, leaving the stub 60 projecting directly away from the axis ofrotation,so that it can beitrimmed off in accordance withthe shape ofthe model in the well-understood manner.

Itwill ofrcourse be unnecessary to apply the cutter to the work exceptin the vicinity of the stub, audit is furthermorenecessary to guard itin some way as it passes around the carrierportion 56, and the inventiontherefore provides means forrelieving the cutter of duty at the desiredtimes. This ment of the link 68.

is done by a modification of the regular.

width grading mechanism, which will now be briefly described. I Themodel wheel 22 is,

carried on a horizontal slide 62, operated by a link 64 whose rear endfee1er65 isadjustable on the fan-board 66 by a link 68, pivoted to it at69, the lower end of which link 68 is adjustable along a segment 70 byalink grade. The segment '70 is pivoted at 82, and

its radius is equal to the effective lengthof the link 68. Therefore thesegment can be swung to a position 70 Where itscenter oecupies the sameposition 69' as that taken by the pivot 69 at the time when feeler atthe end of the link 64 is on the center 75,

and in this adjustment the width grade 1s zero irrespective of thesetting of the link 68 on thesegment. The segment 70 can be swung fromone position to another by an 1 arm 8-t integral with it and operated bya. cam 86 mounted on a gear 88 operated by the main shaft4t2 so as torotate in the same time the model and work. This peculiar width gradingstructure shown is more fully described and is fully discussed in itsrelation to regularand irregular width grading in my cited applicationSer. No. 429,719. The cam 86 shown herein is especially designed for thepresent prob1em.-

iUt)

The portion 90 of the cam holds the segmentin normal width gradingposition, as shown. Now, since thelink 68 is set, as shown, to theextremity of the segmentfarther than it would ever beset in widthgrading-this allows the link 64: to fall to the bottom-of the fan-board,when the cam 90 is operative, thus pushing the slide 62 far,

out and taking the swing frame and'work away from the cutter during thepassage of the model wheel around the part 56 and the already preparedlateral peripheryof the last part.

portion 92 of the cam, which is preferably a circle around itsrotationalcenter, moves the When, however, the end of the last. part isturned toward the cutter, the

segment 70 into the position70. concentric i with the spcoialposition ofthe center 69, above mentloned which, in accordance with the designshown, moves the end of the link 64 to the axis 75, irrespective of theadjust- The machine is then set for 1:1 reproductionland the stub 60 istrimmed oil. I have found that no practical memos tion where its centerwill fall on the fanboard axis 75, it may be designed as shown at 92,Fig. 6, with the same radius as that shown for the cam 90,. while thecam. 90 is made of considerably shorter radius, as shown at 90 in Fig.6. Then the stub cutting cam 92 will throw'thesegment into the positionshown in Fig. 2 corresponding to ordinary width grading, when the propersetting of the mechanism at 78-80 will effeet the ordinary performanceof the width grading mechanismand'the' shorterradius guard cam 90 willstill pull the feel-er down to the bottom of the fan-board when thecutter goes around the fixture 52. This procedure will not work,however, except when an actual increasing or upward grade is desired. ItIn reproduction were sought, as first above descr'ibe'd', the mechanismat 7S80 when set at zero would set the lower end of the link 68 on thecenter 82, in which case there would be no way thus far disclosed ofeffecting the movement of the slide 62 which guards the cutter duringits passage around the part 56. With the disclosed mechanism the lower,end of the link 68 must be set oil from the center 82 at. all times whenit is necessary to guard the cutter.

If a diminishing or downward width grade is desired. the procedureaboveoutlined would set the link 68 over to the other side of the pivot82, and thus would grade the and properly, but when the cam portion 90came around, the slide 62 would fall very far back instead of forward,and the cutter would be ruined on the holder 52. This problem can besolved by using the stub cutting cam 92. in connection with a guard cam90 of dian'ietcr substantially larger than that of the cam 92, (see Fig.7') and in this case the grader settings at 80 will have their regularand apparent meanings. The grading problem can also be dealt with asfollows :In grading up, the link 68 will be set on the leftside of thecenter 82, (as seen in Fig. 2), and the stub cutting cam will be formedas shown at92 in F 8, of greater radiusthan' 92, to pull the fceler downbelow the center in spite of the link setting. The guard cam will beformed as at 90, of still greater diameten'to pull the feeler downfarther. The grader setting here, however, is purely empirical.

The machine will look superficially as if it were set to grade down.v Ingrading" down, the link 68' will. beset on the right side of: thecenter. 82; the stub cutting: cam will be formed as at 92 in Fig. 9, ofgreater diam.- eter than 92,. to lift the fe'eler above the center 75and the guard cam as at 90, of less diameter than 90, todrop it waydown, the grading setting being again empirical. In short, the gradingproblem can be solved by making the radii of the guard and stub cuttingcams both greater or both less than that of 92 for increase grading andone greater and the other less than that of 92 for decrease grading, 92being defined as above, and 90 being extreme enough in radius to guardthe cutter.

It should be understood that what is really beingv done to the last partby the width. mechanism is length grading, since the last part is turnedaround with its natural longitudinal axis at right angles to its axis ofrotation in the swing frame. The remarks above made in respect to theregular and apparent meaning of the grader setting refer to themagnification factor produced thereby, which is to be the same as thatused in length grading the lastpart in the original turning operation.In turning off the stub the length grader will preferably be set tomagnify at the same rate as the width grader in the original turningoperation. The base of the stub is a long narrow line at the end of theheel part or a small circle at the endof the toe, and while in somecases the original relation between the length and width grading may notbe exactly reproduced at all points of a horizontal section through thestub base, the base is so narrow that no practical difficulty isencountered.

The term horizontal here means parallel to the floor whenthe last is inits normal position on the: floor.

The terms width grading and the like have been used in the claims asreferring to magnification perpendicular to the axis of rotation in themachine. That is, such terms refer to the action 04% the machine asknown by such terms, rather than to the eifect produced in the'work, asordinarily termed. I

The cutting of the last parts themselves is ill'ustratedin Fig. 4 andwill be clear withoutmore explanation thanthe statement that the dogs102, 104i are likewise arranged to be fastened to the face plates a-ndtocooperate with the joint surfaces prepared on the model and block, butholding them in normal position in the lathe.

The guarding of the cutter from themetal holder 52 can of course beaccomplished by making the holder 50 oversize, but this is not generallysuliicient for the production of good work, as the model wheel rollsfrom the holder 50 to the model with a bump which will cause the cutterto springinto the work a little, unless there is a further guardingaction. The ca1nsurtace 90,therefore, preferably holds the cutter awayfrom the work overa period of some revolution at least.

a do if the guarding. of the cutter is done by the width gradingmechanism; hut-if the model holder is to be the larger, two pairs willbe required." a The mechanism 97, 98, 99,100 for holding the model wheelcenter in the plane contaiuing the spindle 36and thecutter center willbe found fully described in my application Ser. No. 530,214. i i y i tIn the illustrated enibodinientofthe invention, the last parts areseparately formed,

but the inventionas disclosed isequally applicable to last parts whichare severed after the whole last is turnedin the mdinary manner.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. That improvement inthe art of-manir facturing lasts which consists in automaticallyrevolving the stub, left after the turning operation, about an axistransverseto the longitudinal axis of the last, against a cutter andguiding the work from a model to regulate the depth of cut.

2. That improvement in the art otmanufacturinglasts which consists inrevolving the stub, left after the turning operation, about an axistransverse to the longitudinal axis of the last, againsta cutter,guiding the work from a model, and guarding the cutter as it passesaround thework piece except at t the stub.

3.- A copying lathe having a tool and a revoluble work support arrangedto holda last part with its longitudinal axis extending substantiallyperpendicularly to the drive spindle of the support, and means forholding the work out of contact with the cutter except at the stub. i a

4. A shoe last cutting lathehaving a tool and a revoluble work supportarranged to hold a workpiece with itslterminal stub projectingsubstantially perpendicularly to the drive spindle of the support, andmeans for holding the work outofcontact with the cutter except at thestub, comprising a nou t pantographic width grading mechanism.

5. A copying lathehaving a tool and a revoluble work support, arrangedto hold a last part with its longitudinal axisextending substantiallyperpendicularlyj to the drive spindle of the support, andmeans forholding the work out of contactwit-h the cutter except at the stub,comprising a width grading mechanism and a cam for grossly increasingthewidth grade exceptfat the stub. 1

6. A copying lathe having a tool and a revoluble work support,-arrangedto hold a last part with its terminal stub projecting substantiallyperpendicularly to the drive spindle of the support, and means for hold.ing the work out ofcontact with the cutter except at the stub,comprising a width gradin g mechanisn'i and a cam constructed andarranged to throw the cutter relatively outside thecontour of the workand work sup port except at the stub. V a i 7. A; copying lathehaving 2atooland a revoluhle work support: arranged to hold a last, part with itsterminalstub projecting substantially perpendicularly etc the drivespindle ofthe support, and means forholdingthe work out of contactwiththe cutter except at the stub, comprising a grading slide, a fan-boardand a feeler between the slide and the fan-board, and means forsettingthe feeler farther from the center of the fan-board when the toolismoving past the lateral portions of the work than when it is movingover the terminal portion.

8. A. copying lathe having a tool and a revoluble Work support arrangedto hold a last with its terminal stub projectingsubstantiallyvperpendicularlvto the drive spindle of the support, andwidth grading nechanism comprising a fan-board, a feeler eon tacting.therewith, means for adjusting the feeler for the width grade desired,and means for moving the feeler to a position corresponding to anextreme upward width grade when the cutter is passingarouud the worksupport. I j a a 9. Accopying lathe having a tooland a revoluble worksupport arranged to hold a last with its terminal stub projectingsubstantially perpendicularly to the drive spindle of the support, afan-board, a feeler contacting therewith, means for adjusting the feelerfor the width grade 1 desired, andv means formoving the feeler to aposition corresponding to an extreme upward width grade when the cutteris passingaround the work support, comprising alever connected totheifeeler and means for swinging the lever. i

revoluble work support arranged to hold a lastwith its terminal stubprojecting substantially perpendicularly to the drive spindle of thesupport and width grading meclr anism comprising a fan-board, a feelerconis passing around the work support coma 10. A copying lathe havingatool anda prising a member adjustably connected to the feeler for widthgrading adjustment, and cam mechanism for moving the member to producethe said extreme positioning of the feeler.

11. A copying lathe having a tool and a revoluble work support arrangedto hold a last with its terminal stub projecting substantiallyperpendicularly to the drive spindie of the support and width gradingmechanism comprising a fan-board, a'feeler contacting therewith, andmeans for moving the feeler to a position corresponding to an extremeupward width grade when the cut ter is passing around the work support,comprising a member adjustably connected to the feeler for width gradingadjustment,

and cam mechanism for cyclically shifting said member alternately intopositions corresponding to normal width grading p0sition of the feelerand to extreme upward width grading position of the feeler,respectively.

12. That improvement in the art of manufacturing lasts which consists inrevolving the stub of a last, left after the last turning operation,about an axis substantially perpendicular to the tread surface of thelast, against a cutter, and guiding the work from a model or template tocontrol the depth of out.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LAURENCE E. 'TOPHAM.

